The present disclosure relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Gaillardia plant, also known as a blanket flower, a herbaceous perennial that is grown for use as an ornamental landscape and container plant. The new variety is known botanically as Gaillardia×grandiflora and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘Sunset Sunrise’. Gaillardia is in the family Compositae, under which the commonly referred to “flower” is actually the inflorescence, and made up of smaller ray florets and disc florets. The ray florets themselves have the appearance of “petals”.
‘Sunset Sunrise’ originated and was selected from a large population of hybrid seedlings from a Gaillardia breeding program which was started in 2006. The breeding program was conducted in a greenhouse nursery in West Sussex, United Kingdom. The aims of the breeding program were to produce novel combinations of flower colors and flower forms which are borne on well-branched plants with sturdy growth habits. A controlled hybridization was carried out using combinations of selected named varieties and selected unnamed and unreleased seedlings retained from previous breeding cycles.
‘Sunset Sunrise’ was selected in 2008 for its vibrant yellow inflorescences which exhibit an inner orange red ring (by virtue of the orange-red base to each ray floret) and a central orange disc. The ray florets are borne in two rows or layers and are produced from early spring until fall. ‘Sunset Sunrise’ was also selected for its compact growth habit.
The hybridization which led to the selection of ‘Sunset Sunrise’ was carried out during 2007 using the variety, Gaillardia ‘Fanfare’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,892) as the male parent and a proprietary unreleased and unnamed Gaillardia yellow seedling as the female parent.
‘Sunset Sunrise’ was first asexually propagated in September 2008 in a greenhouse at the inventors nursery in West Sussex, United Kingdom using shoot cuttings taken from lateral branches. ‘Sunset Sunrise’ is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.